Just Admit It
by iJutsu
Summary: Her eyes were serious and was filled with every ounce of hope possible. "Neji, you like me. Admit it, or I'm gone." NejiTen
1. Chapter 1

It's been so long! Three years to be exact, since I published my last story (which I believe was Royal Punishment) in 2007. I felt the urge to come back on this, even though I sort of 'quit' after my last story. But motivation came back, so here I am. Here's a story just to practice and get myself ready again. Hope you all enjoy!

I do not own Naruto, nor it's characters.

**Just Admit It**

by iJutsu

"Neji, why do you like Tenten?"

Neji literally stopped in his tracks and looked oddly at his bowl-cut haired teammate of his, who was just munching on an apple as if it was a basic question. It was to him, obviously. But to Neji, it was more of a reputation-threatening question than a simple one. Lee took another bite of his apple while looking at Neji with curious eyes. Neji gave him a bored look, hopefully dull enough to have Lee lose interest.

"I don't," he said a bit too simply.

"Yes you do," Lee replied back, with no change in his voice.

"I don't," Neji repeated, with slight annoyance.

"Yes you do," Lee also repeated.

"I don't."

"Just admit it."

It became an awkward stare down between the two ninjas. Although, not one moved an inch. Neji squinted. As did Lee. Neji was hoping that he would stop staring eventually, but he didn't. Neji tried to break it off, but whenever he did, he could still feel Lee's questionable look on him. Shrugging it off, both of them started walking again. Lee's eyes never left Neji, nor did the apple ever leave his mouth. It was a rather big, crunchy apple, and Lee's bites and chews could probably be heard on the other side of Konoha Village. And if that wasn't enough to add to Neji's problems, Lee was STILL staring. They probably already walked a mile since Lee last asked the question. This was becoming a bit too uncomfortable for Neji. Lee, to Neji's relief, finally spoke.

"You're lying," Lee stated.

Neji raised a brow, "And you say so, because?"

"Because your actions does not match your answer."

"Again, you say so because?" Neji asked, gaining a little bit interest now that Lee is trying to prove him wrong.

Lee took another huge bite of his apple and spoke, "Let us examine this more carefully, yes? Whenever you are with her, you seem to be more, how should I put this, joyous than you are normally. Hm, even though normally you are not that joyous at all. In fact, majority of the time you are a cold-hearted, remote, impassive, human-being incapable of laughter and…"

"Get to the point.'

" Oh, right," Lee laughed, turning his apple to the part where it was not yet bitten, "In my opinion, and everyone's else's opinion, I notice that you have created a bond with our team's youthful flower, considering you have been training with her a lot lately."

"She just happens to always be available," Neji said bluntly, "Unlike you."

"Ohoho! I beg to differ!" Lee spat, unintentionally spitting apple chunks on Neji's face, "Have you ever ceased to think that she did not have the time, but instead, she made the time? That she made the time from her busy schedule to just do simple training with you?"

Neji twitched in disgust, feeling bits of Lee's chewed up apple slide down his face. What was more disgusting to him was that Lee just continued staring at him, again biting into that stupid apple. There was sudden confidence in Lee's eyes, feeling he may have got Neji thinking. He did, surprisingly. He did recall that whenever he asks Tenten to go training with him, she tends to hesitate to respond. It was as if she had plans already and was afraid to tell Neji about it and disappoint him. Although, now that he thinks of it, there was never a time where Tenten denied his request. Neji went deeper into thought, _"Then she must have canceled her plans every time I asked her to train with me."_ He felt a small feeling of guilt on the bottom of his stomach, but it was soon forgotten about when Lee's obnoxious voice came about.

"I am correct, am I not?" Lee nearly yelled, with a huge grin, "And knowing so, you got used to asking her out to train that it suddenly became a habit. And as days and days go by of you both spending time together, you learn more about each other and start to notice traits about each other that you never noticed before! From there, you both go deeper within your thoughts and realize who you guys really are. Then you start to gain more reasons to admire each other both physically and mentally! You start to look forward to see her. You get this slight feeling of excitement whenever you see her near, and when she is not around, you start to feel depressed and disappointed that you have to go a day, or merely hours, without her! You begin to MISS her! Soon enough, you will start developing feelings for her! But not ordinary feelings you would feel towards a fellow, graceful teammate! No sir, Mr. Prodigy! But instead the feeling of happiness, excitement, and yearning that overwhelms that cold heart of yours! The…the feeling of everlasting, overpowering, and youthful LOVE!"

Lee gasped for some air and gave him a more bigger (and more creepier) grin through his excited, heavy panting. Neji just stared at him in appall, not knowing whether he should be shocked of his accuracy or freaked out by his dog-like behavior. His face softened, as thoughts of Tenten entered his mind. He started thinking about the times they spent together, and much to his surprise, Lee was right. Lee was absolutely right. That's something new. Lee's grin grew ear to ear, realizing that he had finally convinced Neji.

"Ha! Am I right, or am I _right,_" Lee winked with a conceited laugh as his apple reached for his mouth.

Before the apple could even reach Lee's lips, Neji swiftly snatched it from his hands and threw it far towards the lake besides them. In all honesty, the apple was becoming more annoying to him than Lee was. Lee, with his hands still frozen near his mouth where his apple was supposed to be, stared at him in shock. Neji just shrugged and continued walking forward. Lee pouted and stuck his tongue out at him.

"You owe me an apple!" Lee yelled, catching up with him.

--

The next early morning,

Gai-sensei arranged a meeting for the team to arrive at their training grounds promptly around 6:30 AM. Knowing Lee, he was probably there by 5. Neji glanced at the clock, and nearly sat up in alarm. He was already 10 minutes late. _"What the hell," _Neji thought strangely, rubbing morning out of his eyes, _"How did I lose track of time?" _Normally he would wake up with just enough time to get everything ready. Then he realized he spent the whole night thinking over the words Lee spat at him the day before. Shaking everything out of his system, he got up. Quickly freshening up and grabbing his materials, he jolted out of his home and towards the meeting area. Lee, obviously, was already there. He looked around for his less annoying teammate.

But she wasn't around.

Unexpectedly, Neji started have this troublesome feeling at the pit of his stomach. Not a sick feeling, but a lonesome feeling. The more he looked around, the more the feeling got stronger. Suddenly, he remembered Lee's words: _"and when she is not around, you start to feel depressed and disappointed that you have to go a day, or merely hours, without her! You begin to MISS her!"_ He grunted and almost pitied himself. He wasn't used to feeling weak just because of a girl; a teammate nonetheless. He realized standing there idle and staring blankly towards the tress made him look like a fool. Neji turned around, and the second he did, he bonked his chin against somebody's forehead. He fumbled back a bit, and so did the being before him. He blinked.

It was Tenten.

Tenten rubbed her forehead and smiled sheepishly at Neji.

"Neji! I'm sorry!" she said, giving Neji a bright smile with a shy laugh, "You turned around so sudden. I was just going to check up on you, you seemed to be a little out of it just now."

He just stared at her. He felt his face grow lightly warm as she continued staring at him in concern. Neji's eyes started to twitch a bit, failing to restrain himself. _"Dammit," _he thought frustratingly, _"Lee's damn speech got me feeling so different around her." _It was true; Neji couldn't help hearing Lee's words in the back of mind whenever he and Tenten speak. Tenten tilted her head and stared at him a bit more carefully. At this point, his face could of reveal an unwanted blush. To prevent himself from further embarrassment, he quickly turned his head to the other direction and cleared his throat.

"Hn."

Sadly, that was the only "word" he could let out of his mouth. He could practically feel the disappointment that fell upon Tenten's face. Which he did, for he winced a bit seeing her face soften down to a frown. She decided she shouldn't let it get to her; she was probably just overreacting. Her mood quickly changed back to normal as she stretched her arms towards the sky.

"Where's Gai-senseiiii," she whined, "He tells us to come here early, yet he shows up hours later!"

"You are right!" Lee yelled, giving a fake, obvious gasp, "I, uh, I shall go look for him! Do not, er, um, fret, my dear teammates, I will return shortly!"

Neji and Tenten stared confusingly at Lee for his random decision. If Neji didn't know better, he'd bet Lee was just using that as excuse to leave them alone. Neji glared. He _did _know better. The talk from yesterday. Tenten's awkward arrival. Lee's sudden departure. Who was Lee trying to fool? What was he thinking trying to fool the prodigy? Neji eyed over to Tenten, who still seemed confused as ever. He felt relieved for a bit; at least she did not know the idea that Lee was trying to point out.

"Well, bye!" Lee said as he ran off.

Both stared at their green teammate while he ran off waving them awkwardly goodbye. Tenten and Neji looked at each other for a bit. They stared at each other incompetently. All of a suddenly, Tenten gasped, realizing something. Neji jumped up a bit. A smile then formed onto her face. Tenten broke of the silence by clapping her hands together and giving Neji a motivating smile.

"Neji!" she exclaimed, excitedly, "Let's go do something today! Something fun."

At first, Neji didn't like the sound of that. He wasn't really the type of guys to hang out and chill. Or even have fun for the matter. He was focused mainly on training, which was kind of what he was looking forward to today.

"We can train in a different way, if that's what you're trying to imply."

Tenten shot at him a death glare. He just stayed perfectly still; he was quite used to that look already. She gave that look to him every time they train together. Not threatened by it, Neji just pretended to act like he didn't know what she wanted. He found it quite amusing, fooling around with her like this. She let out a frustrated sigh.

"NO, that's NOT what I'm trying to imply!" Tenten pouted.

She then linked her arms with his and looked up at him with such a serious expression.

"You and I are going to have fun today," she said, making it sound like a demand, "Hear that, Hyuuga? F-U-N. A prodigy such as yourself should know what that means."

Instead of being annoyed and insulted by such a remark, he couldn't help but stare at their link arms. This was the closet body contact he's ever been with her ever (counting aside missions where he had to carry her). This time was done by choice. She chose to do so, which made Neji feel even more flattered. The feeling of her warm, bare skin touching his cold one made him shiver. Again, he felt his face grow a little warm in embarrassment. Neji again looked away, but didn't release his arm. Tenten blinked, seeming to notice the soft red tinted upon Neji's cheeks. She just smiled and gave out a small laugh. Neji felt her stares, making him feel even more awkward then he already was. He cleared his throat.

"As you wish," he said, almost unwillingly.

Tenten's face lit up happily, and she literally hugged his arm tighter. Neji looked down at her in slight awe. Tenten noticed he was looking, so she looked back up at him and smiled. Neji twitched. Now she saw how flustered her looked. He just let out a slight sigh. There was no point of hiding it now. She was acting like her usual, childish self and now that Neji got to experience this side of her a little bit better, he found it kind of…cute. Besides, seeing how happy his teammate is just for hanging out with a dull, lifeless prodigy made him feel like this would all be worth it. Tenten flashed another smile before walking arm-in-arm with Neji out of the training area.

"It's a date!"

--

**TBC**

So, as I stated before, this is a short, simple love story that will hopefully bring me back on track for future fanfictions that I plan on writing. I hope you guys enjoyed it. The second, and last, chapter will be posted shortly. Until then, please read and review ! =)


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys! Thank for the reviews. Hopefully I'll gain more in the future, but regardless, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Just Admit It**

by iJutsu

"Neji! Can you walk a bit faster? You're becoming harder to pull."

Neji got lost in his train of thoughts as Tenten spoke. Tenten and Neji's arms were still linked ever since they left the training area. Not much to his surprise, many of their fellow villagers were staring. Most already started staring in awe and whispering to each other rumors about them. Again, not much to his surprise, considering him and Tenten are well known in this small village. Ignore them, Neji just let out a slightly annoyed sigh.

"You don't have to hold onto me anymore, since it's seems it's becoming too hard for you to handle, " he replied, dully, "I'll walk behind you. Besides, people are starting to stare."

Tenten gave him a look with her eyes that almost seemed depressing. Neji blinked, wondering if there was something that he said that disappointed her. Tenten looked away to the side slowly. She then let out a dramatic sigh and released her arm from his.

"You're embarrassed of me," she sighed, childishly.

Neji eyes widened slightly at her sudden jump to conclusion. He nearly urked back at the mournful and dreary aura that was surrounding her. He really did not understand where she got that idea, for he just simply thought that she was tired of holding on to him. Tenten gave out another sigh. Although, it wasn't another usual disappointed sigh, but instead an obvious sigh that gave him a hint that there was something that he should do. With her head still slightly down, she turned her head to eye him and check if he was getting the idea. Seeing that he wasn't, she turned her head back and let out yet another obvious sigh.

"Oh, it's no big deal. It's my fault anyways. I mean, I _am _embarrassing to even be seen with. I'm never worthy enough to link arms with a friend, and actually have them feel…"

He twitched at her fail attempt to sound dramatic and to make him feel guilty. She spoke pretty loudly, causing more people to look. Neji looked around, seeing even more people talk about it. As the chatter got louder, he rolled his eyes and grabbed Tenten by the arm. He yanked her closer to him, and quickly linked their arms back together. Without looking at her, for his eyes was closed in slight frustration, he cleared his throat and continued walking. Tenten giggled.

"I got you there, didn't I?" she said rather proudly.

"What was the purpose of that?"

"Comes to show that if you don't as I say," she winked, "I will embarrass you until you do."

Neji just looked at her in appall. Tenten stared back and winced a little. It was either very admirable or very uncomfortable to get lost into those eyes of his. Right now, it was very uncomfortable. _"Maybe I want a little bit too far?" _she wondered worriedly, since Neji hasn't said anything yet. Neji noticed her worried expression and couldn't help but smile a little. Every expression she shot at him today seemed to be cute, and he wondered why he never noticed this before. Again, he blamed Lee's speech. He didn't even realize that he let out a soft chuckle.

"Consider lesson learned," he said softly, with an obvious hidden smile. .

Tenten blushed at the small smile that was given to her. It's been a while since Neji actually smiled at her. He would give her a few smirks every now and then during training, which still gave her the light-hearted feeling like the one she has right now, but this time was because of a _joke_. A joke that people would usually get offended with, especially if it was someone like Neji. Tenten pouted a little, hating how hard he was to read sometimes. She looked up at Neji, who still seemed to be a bit flustered over what happened. She giggled in pride, and just hugged his arm tighter.

"Let's go somewhere to eat!" she said, "I'm starving."

Tenten was still in a stage of awe that Neji wasn't literally pushing her away. Usually he would hate to have anyone link arms with him, or even touch him for that matter. Tenten always thought the same would apply to her, but then again, she never tried actually holding onto him, besides training, until today. She was really surprised, but she was good at hiding it. Although, curiousity always got the better of her.

"Neji?" Tenten started, a bit hesitantly.

"Hn?"

Cat got her tongue. She just realized that she knew her question, she just didn't know how to put it into words where Neji won't find it too strange. _"What am I supposed to say?" _Tenten thought with a little panic, _" ' Neji, why don't you treat me like other people? Why don't you push me away like those other people? ' Ugh, that's so stupid. Makes it sound like I don't appreciate him or that I don't trust him.." _Tenten felt embarrassed, seeing how much time she was taking just to think of a question and seeing how Neji glanced over at her for being quiet for the past couple of minutes. She laughed awkwardly.

"Ah, um you know what? Nevermind. I think I forgot," she replied, rubbing the back of her neck with her free hand sheepishly, "Don't worry."

Neji twitched. He knew she was lying, and if there was one word that he could loathe the most, it would be 'nevermind'. He went into depth with this, as always. One, she is too embarrassed to ask: Likely. Two, she realized how unnecessary the question was: doubtful. Or three, she actually forgot: very doubtful. Tenten gulped. She could literally feel him reading her with his mysterious, deep, crystal white eyes. Nothing ever escapes his eyes--ever. Before Neji could completely figure her out, a warm, sweet aroma filled the air around them. Tenten sighed in delight and loosened her grip around Neji's arm. Neji felt an instant rush of coldness the moment she did, since he already gotten used to her warmth. Not wanting to show his disappointment, he inhaled the air that, apparently, seemed more important than holding his arm. His nose itched. The smell was sweet. Too sweet, especially for him, who's sugar intake is below 1 percent. Tenten swooned towards the direction where the delicious aroma was coming from and gasped happily. Before them stood the local Konaha Bakery and Café. An employee was standing in front of the door with a plate filled with a some sort of bread on a stick that still seemed to be hot. Before Neji was able to make out what it is, Tenten beat him to it by yelling:

"Pancakes!"

Tenten quickly ran over to the lady with the plate.

"Are these free samples?" Tenten asked excitedly.

"Yes, dear they are," the lady replied with a smile, "If you like them, buy some more in the shop! Buy the two plate special, and get a cookie on the side for free!"

Tenten picked one up gently off the plate, since it was still hot. Blowing off the smoke, she popped it in her mouth and an instant smile grew on her face. Neji was just staring at her oddly. As she finished up the delicious pastry, her eyes sparkled. She was hungry for more.

"Mm! That was so good!" Tenten exclaimed happily.

Tenten's eyes filled with glee as she swiftly turned around and smiled eagerly at Neji. She was fidgetting in excitement as motioned him to come to her. Hesitantly, Neji walked over to Tenten and looked over at the food that was in the lady's arms. Neji raised a brow at the small, round flat pastries attached to the stick. He looked at Tenten.

"What is that?" he asked dully.

Both Tenten and the lady looked at him in shock; complete, utter, indescribable shock. Tenten was staring at him like he died right before her eyes, which totally started to freak him out. He shot back at them a careless stare. Tenten just kept staring as if she was expecting Neji to say something that shows that he was just kidding. After moments in dead silence, it seemed like that wasn't going to happen. Tenten just squinted at Neji and finally spoke.

"You're kidding me, right?' she asked, almost rudely, "You must be joking."

"I'm never joking," he replied calmly.

Tenten shrugged a little, since that was true. Then her squint became a sudden death glare.

"Neji, it's a _pancake,_" she said, "A _pancake! _You don't know what a _pancake _is?! Even our great ancestors know what a _pancake _is, and the _pancake_ wasn't even invented yet! E-even a RAT knows what a _pancake _is! Even a--"

Neji shut her up by placing another mini pancake on a stick straight into her mouth. Obviously that was enough to keep her quiet. For a second, that is. She grinned evilly. Once she swallowed, she grabbed another one of the lady's plate and gave him a threatening look.

"You wouldn't," he said simply, almost completely positive that he was right.

"Oh, I SO would," she said with a grin, walking closer to him.

Neji's eyes widened slightly. He really didn't think that she was going to do it. Before he could even blink, she had the pancake up to his lips. He jerked back just in time. She tried again, a little faster this time. However, it was obvious that Tenten's speed could never match up Neji's. Pouting, she turned around in her heel, making it seem like she had given up. Neji sighed in relief. But before he could get too comfortable, Tenten swiftly turned around in the blink of an eye and aimed the stick of pancake goodness towards his mouth. Again, her speed was nothing. Neji simply grabbed onto her wrist once the pastry was an inch away from his lips. He gave her a smirk. She glared and sharply shook away from his grip.

"Hmph," she pouted angrily and looked down.

Neji's face softened as he looked at her. She was acting like such a child. Pretending to be sad, getting excited for pancakes, trying to feed him, getting mad for him not eating the pancake--it was all so childish. Instead of being extremely annoyed like he thought he would, he instead found himself slightly smiling. This childish vibe that Tenten expressed was…cute. Neji turned a little red at the thought that he came to the point where he would think that Tenten, his teammate for years, was cute. He let out a sigh of defeat, causing Tenten to look up with those angry, _cute_ eyes. He eyed the pancake, moved his head to her level, and slightly opened his mouth. Tenten's glare went away and she blinked confusingly at him. Suddenly understanding what he meant, a huge smile once again crept onto her face. Ever so happily, or a little too happily, she shoved the pancake in his mouth. He nearly choked. He stood up straight and with a face of disgust, started slowly chewing it. Tenten watched him closely, eager for a reaction. Unexpectedly, the disgusted look on his face slowly started to fade and a blank stare took it's place. He started feeling something overwhelming; the feeling of a sugar rush. Tenten became more frightened for his reaction than eager now. Once he swallowed, Tenten braced herself. He fully looked at her with a face so hard to read, that Tenten really didn't know what to expect anymore.

"Let's…get some more," he said, rather slowly, "Let's get the two plate special, so we can get you that free cookie. Is that fine with you?"

Tenten stared at him in surprise. After a while, she realized that he DID like the pancakes. She couldn't help but laugh at the way that he was showing it. Confused by her laughter, he opened the door for her and stared at the free-samples lady who has been staring at them for the past few minutes. Once Tenten entered, the lady smiled.

"Girlfriend?" she asked.

Neji blushed, embarrassed. He eyed the inside of the shop to check if Tenten heard her, but she seemed too distracted by the menu and the cupcakes displayed in the counter. His face softened again, seeing how happy and graceful she looked. She seemed to be really enjoying herself with him ever since they left the training area. He felt flattered, knowing not everyone is comfortable to be around him, or vise versa. The idea of Tenten being his girlfriend was just so overwhelming, because he did not know whether that was a good thing. He was so dull, and lifeless and she was the complete opposite of that. _"She would get tired of me,_" he thought, disappointingly. He then looked at the lady and let out a small chuckle.

"I wish," he said under his breath, before walking in and closing the door behind him.

Once he entered the shop, he looked around for Tenten. He easily spotted her, for she already found a seat and she was waving her arms high enough for him to see. Neji made his way and sat down in front of her, already feeling the stares of their fellow residents around them. Tenten made herself comfortable and smiled.

"I already ordered. So we probably don't have to wait that long," she said. Then her face lightened up, "In fact, here it comes!"

A man placed down two steaming plates of pancakes before them. He also placed the free cookie in between them and bowed. As he walked away, Tenten seemed to be overpowered by the smell, because she continuously kept saying how good it smelt. She quickly grabbed on the syrup and much to Neji's surprise, she began drowning her pancakes with it. Again feeling his odd stare, she put down the syrup and looked at him.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Don't you think that's too much syrup?" he asked instead, still eying her pancakes.

"Nejiiii," Tenten laughed, "What's a pancake without syrup? It's like, a man without his lover: incomplete."

Neji became amused by her choice of comparisons. He didn't know why, but he felt a sudden nervous feeling in his heart. _"Why do I have the urge to saying something to her?" _he thought dully, _"Something that I don't even know?" _He cleared his throat and began cutting up his pancakes. Again, he felt a glare pierce through his skull. He looked up, knowing it was Tenten's.

"Ugh, Neji!" she groaned, "Must I do everything for you? You forgot the syrup!"

"Tenten, I don't want the syr…"

Ignoring him, she had already poured enough syrup on his pancakes before he was able to finish his sentence. She sat back proudly and continued eating hers. Neji stared at his pancakes. If it was already sweet without it, what more can syrup do? Sighing, he took a bite and nearly twitched. It was too sweet. Edible enough for him, but still too sweet. Not wanting to waste the food, he just continued to eat.

"Oh!" Tenten gasped, startling Neji, "I almost forgot."

She reached over for the whip cream next to him and started shaking it. Neji looked at her, then at her pancakes already drowned in syrup, and then back at her. Again, he gave her the odd look.

"Tenten, aren't your pancakes already too sweet? Put that away."

"What are you, my mother?" she said jokingly, sticking out her tongue, "Since you don't know, Mr. Prodigy, whip cream is another necessity of the pancake. Like the syrup. The syrup is what makes it complete, but the whip cream is what makes it perfect. Just like the man and his lover. They're complete with the syrup, but even more beautiful with whip cream."

Neji just stared at her, trying to take that all in. There she goes again with her strange comparisons. Neji just shrugged and continued to cut his pancake into pieces.

"Can't the pancake be perfect on it's own?" he asked simply.

Tenten stayed quiet for a while. She slowly stopped shaking the bottle and placed it down. She stared into her pancakes blankly. Confused by the sudden silence, Neji looked up at her and his eyes widened. Her sudden mood change got him worrying. Before he could ask if she was alright, even though he was completely oblivious to why she was sad, she spoke.

"It can, but it chooses not to be. No one wants to be alone. Some say they don't care, but they do. Somewhere deep down inside. That's why, even though the pancake is edible on it's own, people usually put syrup or whip cream because it's better that way. They prefer the pancake to not be alone. Same with the pancake. It wound much rather be with something, so it wouldn't have to wait so long to be wanted," Tenten grabbed the whip cream again, then looked up at him and gave him a look, "It's like the couple, again. One would rather be surrounded by someone who completes them, than to just be alone and wait for someone to sweep them off their feet."

Neji was appalled by her lecture. Neji, or probably the common people, never saw it that way. He completely understood how the ingredients complement each other, but never thought that a pancake wouldn't be good enough on it's own. He chuckled.

"You're comparing love to a pancake?" he asked.

"In a way, yes," she grumbled, thinking that he wasn't taking it seriously.

She started to shake the bottle a bit harder as she removed her eye contact with Neji and focused it again on her pancakes. Neji wasn't enjoying this feeling at all. She was disappointed, and he knew that. He also knew that it may be because of him. He looked around trying to find out an idea to change the subject and bring up the mood. He again cleared his throat.

"It's pretty decent here," he said, "Very…pink."

All of a sudden, her face lit up and she smiled at him. Neji didn't know whether to be relieved or freaked out by her sudden mood swings.

"Isn't it?" she smiled, "Sakura and I always wanted to go here together. Oh, now that I think of it, we were supposed to go here together last week, but I wasn't able to because…"

Tenten covered her mouth slightly. She was able to stop herself before saying something that was better off unsaid. Neji, however, had a good idea of what it may be. Remember what Lee said to him the other day about Tenten always making time for him, he sighed.

"Because I asked you to train with me," he finished for her, feeling really guilty.

Neji stared blankly at her, and back to his food. Guilt got the best of him. His conscience kept saying that he had every right to feel guilty, because he kept taking away plans that Tenten gets excited for away from her. Tenten noticed how guilty he looked, and how suddenly down he seemed. He was now just poking the pancake with the fork, all lifeless. Tenten twitched. She hated how hard he was to read, and how hard it was to make him seem happy. She started fiercely shaking the bottle of whip cream. When Neji looked up to see why she was making so much noise, she pressed down the tip and sprayed whip cream all over the prodigy's face. He looked at her in shock. She just glared.

"God, Neji!" Tenten whined, "Does it kill you to laugh for once? O-or smile? I'm trying to have fun with you, but you--"

"I am having fun," Neji assured her, a bit surprised that she came to that conclusion, "I just feel sort bad that I always take time away from your friends just for extra training. So, I'm sorry."

Tenten blinked, and after a while, let out a laugh.

"Neji, is that what was bothering you? Please, that's nothing to worry about! In all honesty, I'd rather spend a whole day training in the hot sun with you than hang out in a little pastry shop with them."

Tenten realized what she just said and blushed madly. She covered her cheeks in embarrassment, but couldn't avoid eye-contact from Neji. Neji felt touched, which felt really strange to him, considering it was a feeling that he never experienced before. The more he stared at her, the more he started to admire her. Better yet, she looked really cute embarrassed. Having nothing to say to that, he just smiled softly at her, causing her to stare back in awe.

"May I see the whip cream?" he asked politely, hands out towards it.

Tenten slowly nodded, still captured by his eyes and smile, and handed it to him. Realizing what she just did, she shook her head out of her thoughts and her eyes widened towards Neji. Giving the whip cream to Neji right after she just attacked him with it wasn't the brightest idea at all. He smirked. Tenten started to panic.

"Neji, you wouldn't!"

With the smirk still planted on his face, he continued shaking it. Tenten winced.

"Neji, you better not! I'm sorry! I won't do it again!"

The rattling of the bottle made her paranoid. Tenten quickly picked up the syrup bottle in defense.

"Neji, I swear, don't you even think about it or I will--AAH!"

Without hesitation, Neji sprayed the whipcream at not just her face, but her whole body. Tenten started laughing and yelled at him repeatedly to stop, but knowing Neji, he wont'. She kept her hands before her trying to defend herself, but that didn't seem to help at all. Removing her hands away from her face, she tried to grab the whip cream from him from across the table, but Neji held it up, making it harder for her to reach it. She pouted and squirted the syrup at his face. Neji twitched, seeing how the sticky liquid got to his hair. She laughed at his reaction, but soon regretted it once Neji sprayed whip cream into her mouth. She coughed and glared at him. She squirted the syrup right at his face, and started rubbing it all over his face with her hands.

"Ha!" she said, taking her hands off his face in pride, "That's what you get if you mess with me!"

Neji just licked his lips and grinned. She blinked, wondering why he was smiling. He stood up. Suddenly, she felt a thick liquid slide down her head. She gasped, and looked up, not realizing that once she put down the syrup, he was able to grab a hold of it. He put down the syrup and chuckled.

"Looks good on you," he smirked.

"Ooh, that's it!" Tenten growled, now standing up and literally attacking him.

Within seconds, a war between syrup and whip cream came about between the two ninjas. Customers were staring at them in surprise, some even with excitement. Although, the people around them was the last thing in Neji's mind. Despite the fact that he was becoming covered in syrup and whip cream, he wouldn't wish to be anywhere else but there right now. There, food fighting with Tenten, in the middle of a pastry shop. He felt a sudden rush of happiness and excitement in his heart that it became unbearable. He couldn't hold in the feeling that was literally beating out of his heart. With no warning, Neji swiftly pulled Tenten close to him and embraced her dearly. Tenten was caught off guard. Her eyes widened in shock, and she accidentally dropped the syrup bottle that she held in hands. Although, that didn't make a sound. Nothing made a sound. Not even the shocked crowd around them. It was dead silence around them, except for the sounds of their faint breathing and their heartbeats. Tenten, as shocked as she was, felt sort of relaxed in his warm embrace. No words describe how good this felt to her. Before she could wrap her arms around him and hug him back, the man, preferibly the owner of the shop, blew a whistle, causing them to jump back startled.

"You two! Out of my shop! NOW!"

In a swift second, they were out of the shop. She stood besides Neji quiet, feeling extremely awkward after everything that happened. First the food fight, and then the embrace. How was she supposed to respond to that? If anything, Neji was the one feeling the most uncomfortable. He didn't realize what he done until after it was over with. He embraced her out of no where. He lovingly held her in his arms for the first time, and he didn't want to let go. And that was the most confusing thing to him right now: He didn't want to let go. _"But…why?" _he thought, desperately to himself, _"Why am I feeling this way…towards her.." _Neji looked over at Tenten besides him, seeing how shy she suddenly seemed. He decided to be the better one and break the silence.

"Well, that was fun."

"Uh-huh," she said back quickly, still overwhelmed by it all.

"Let's um, head over to my house. It's only a few blocks away. You wouldn't want to head home looking like _that_."

Tenten looked up at him, and gave him a small laugh, "Touche."

When they reached the Hyuuga residence, Tenten was lucky enough that no one was home but them. She really did not want the perfect Hyuuga clan to see her in that condition. Neji lead her to his room, which was right across the hall from Hinata's room. Tenten entered the room shyly, still not being able to handle being in his room, even though she's been in here countless times.

"Don't make yourself too comfortable, I'll be back soon. And don't touch anything," Neji stated, as he headed towards the door, "Hinata and you should be around the same size. I'll just grab something from her closet. I'll be right across the hall if you need me."

Tenten just nodded and slowly sat down on the chair, not wanting to get any of his furniture dirty. Not being able to sit still due the uncomfortable stickiness from the syrup and cream, she stood up and decided to walk around the room. However, the moment she stood up, her foot seemed to have got caught on something. Without realizing that, she took a step forward and fell forward, accidentally knocking down a small box that was on his desk. All of it's components fell out.

"You okay?" Neji said from the other room.

"I-I'm fine! Don't worry!" she yelled back, nervously.

Tenten got up on her knees frantically, and started gathering the stuff that fell. Although, everything seemed to catch her eye since it looked like stuff that Neji wouldn't normally have. The box was small and decorated. One of the stuff that fell out were two pink laced hair ribbons, still newly wrapped. Another was a photo. Tenten slowly and carefully placed the ribbons back into the box. She picked up the photo and then she nearly dropped it in surprise. Her eyes widened in shock. It was a photo of her. It was the accidental photo of her and Neji from when Lee was messing with Neji's new camera. This was the only photo of them together, now she thought of it. She couldn't stop staring. She looked back at the box, at the ribbons, and then at the photo. _"What is all this?" _Tenten thought in confusion. Suddenly, she heard the dropping of clothes before her. Tenten looked up and saw Neji, who dropped the clothes in shock, looking down at her. His eyes were filled with embarrassment and fear, and that struck Tenten bad, knowing that she invaded his privacy. Although, she didn't regret it. She slowly stood up, with the picture still in her hands, and gave Neji a confused, yet serious look.

"Neji, what is this?"

**TBC**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It was rather long _ I didn't expect it to be so long, but if you read it all and you liked it, I appreciate it greatly. =) Yay, the story is 2/3 done! Hope you're enjoying it so far. Tell me what you think as you review! Read and Review, please and thank you! Last chapter coming up shortly! **


	3. Chapter 3

Hello. I hope you all enjoyed the previous two chapters! Sorry for the delay! I've been busy with school and all that jazz. I had a great time writing it, so I hope you all enjoy this final chapter. Hopefully I'll continue writing fanfictions after this, but we'll wait and see. Ladies and gents, here's the last chapter ;D

**Just Admit It**

by iJutsu

Neji and Tenten were both frozen on the spot. Neji was waiting for her to change the subject, while Tenten was waiting for his answer. Obviously, they knew for a fact that they weren't going to be the first to give in. Neji eyes were still wide in shock. He looked at the gifts on the floor, then back at her hands holding the picture, and then straight in her eyes. Tenten flinched at his deep stare. She never saw him this scared before; over something so small, yet so strange. Neji tried to break the silence, but he couldn't find the right words to say. Knowing Tenten, she wasn't going to leave without an answer.

"What _is_ this?" Tenten repeated, more curiously.

Neji decided to play it cool. Apparently, that was the best the prodigy could come up with.

"A photograph."

"Well, I can see that," Tenten nearly scoffed, "B-but all of this. What is all of this? The box, the ribbon, the photo of us…what is this?"

"You just stated what they are."

"NEJI," she said sharply, getting more annoyed than curious, "Tell me what is this is. Why do you have our picture? In this little…gift box?"

Neji seemed as calm as ever, but deep down, this whole situation was killing him.

"I have the photo because it was the first photo taken with my camera, and I couldn't merely throw it away. And the box is just something to put it in, nothing more. The Hyuuga household is filled with everything decorative, so a small, fancy box is really nothing. I just placed the photo in there simply because I had no other use of the box. Any other questions?"

Neji's eyes showed more confidence, thinking that he's got her right where he wanted her. But that soon faded when he saw that she didn't look convinced. She looked at him, and back at the photo. Tenten then looked back at the floor, remembering the ribbons. She picked them up, and showed it to Neji, walking a bit closer to him. He was getting a bit too nervous and uncomfortable now.

"What are these?"

"…Hair ribbons."

"Hm," she said, now tapping the ribbon on her chin, "Why in the world would you, of all people, have hair ribbons?"

"It's Hinata's," he said, a bit too quickly, making it seem suspicious.

Tenten raised a brow, "Hinata doesn't wear anything on her hair."

"It's a gift. For her…birthday."

"Her birthday is not until a couple of months."

"No shame in shopping early."

Tenten just stared, still not convinced. For one, Neji hardly ever bought anything for anybody, birthday or not. He doesn't tend to pay as much attention to Hinata as well. Tenten examined the ribbon more through. It was pink, and on the end of the strands was a cute, cartoon like panda. A simple circle, with a two dots as eyes and an 'x' as a mouth. It had two circles as ears, which looked real similar to Tenten hair buns. Real similar. Tenten blinked, remembering one time she slipped out to Neji that she adored pandas. The color of the ribbon seemed to also match her training uniform. Tenten looked back up at Neji, who, as always, gave easy to read. her that same blank look. She looked at the box, and photo.

"And you placed in it in the same box where our photo is at?"

"Tenten, it's a box. I put it in there just for convenience. Take it out when I need it."

"And our photo?"

Neji turned a bit read from the term 'our'. He shook out of it, "Same reason. Convenience."

Tenten didn't buy it. She picked up the box and the cover that fell off. There had to be something, just something, that could have Neji spill out the truth. There was a photo of her and her. Their first ever, and only, photo together. Then there were ribbons, pink like her uniform and with a panda that almost symbolized her. He should know she likes pandas, especially those in cute accessories. She was pretty sure she told him about it before. Tenten almost slapped herself in stupidity. She wasn't _that_ stupid. But she was more angered that Neji thought that she was stupid enough to fall for it. She looked at him straight in the eye. She almost glared.

"Neji," she started slowly, "Are these gifts…for me?"

Neji's heart stopped, and not in the good way. Her eyes went right through him; now he was the easy one to read. For the first time in his life, he was caught red handed, and he was nervous about it. Nervous. Mr. Prodigy was finally nervous. But knowing him, he always found a way to get out of things.

"It can be, if you want it to be," Neji said, too calmly.

Tenten just froze. She was incapable of moving due to the anger that was now rising in her. That was by far the stupidest thing Neji has ever said. Scratch that; that was the only stupid thing Neji has ever said. What got to her the most is that he was willing to lie to _her_, his closest teammate, about something as small as a gift. She started shaking slightly. Neji noticed, and his calm expression slowly became a worried one. He didn't know this would affect her that much. She gave him one last look, and shook her head in disappointment. Placing the gift down gently, she just walked sharply passed him with nothing else to say. Regret washed over him, which he newly felt because he never once regretted his decisions. But with her, it was different.

"What have I done?" he grunted annoyingly to himself, as he turned around and ran after her.

He was lucky enough that Tenten decided not to run. She was only a few feet away, and Neji wasn't going to let this moment slip away. He picked up the pace and caught up to her. She sensed his presence, so she decided to walk a bit faster.

"Leave me alone, Neji," she said through her teeth.

"You don't understand," Neji assured, trying to make her stop walking. It worked, but not the way he wanted it to. Tenten stopped, turned around, crossed her arms and scoffed. She was beyond annoyed with Neji's dullness.

"You're right! I don't understand," Tenten laughed sarcastically, "I don't understand why you can't just tell me that the gift was for me, instead of LYING to me. It's just a damn gift, Neji! Why would you lie to me about something so small?"

"Better than lying to you of something big," he replied, but immediately regretted. He mentally slapped himself in stupidity. He surely does need to learn to think before he speaks. Obviously, that enraged Tenten.

"Oh, so lying to me apparently is no big deal? It's still lying, you jerk!" Tenten almost yelled, but she shakily tried to calm down, "I don't know if I can even trust you anymore. I-in fact, what else have you been lying to me about, Neji?"

"You're making a big deal off a stupid gift," Neji shot back, now annoyed, "Have you ever thought that I didn't want to tell you because I wanted to _surprise _you?"

Tenten again froze, with nothing to admit but that he was right. She didn't take the time to think about the reasonable possibilities behind his little lie. She looked down in disappointment and shame. Neji noticed her sudden gesture, and let out an exhausted sigh as he rubbed his forehead frustratingly.

"It's not like you to overreact like this," Neji stated, calmer, "To lose your temper, yes. But not to overreact over something like this."

Tenten stayed quiet for a while before responding in a whisper, "You know I don't like surprises."

"Which is why I didn't plan on giving that to you until later in the near future. Possibly your birthday."

Tenten again had nothing to say. He was beating her with everything he said. It was partially her fault as well, for not taking the time to fully understand the situation. Although, she did have her reason. A reason she could not yet tell. Neji again sighed.

"You know I wouldn't lie to you," Neji said disappointingly, unintentionally making her feel guitly.

The guilt soon faded. Tenten bit her lip, realizing her reason again. _"He DID lie," _she thought, pitifully, _"He DID lie. And he's been keeping this from me for, lord knows how long…"_. She look down and shook her head. Her plan to have him admit his feelings failed. Her plan to finally have Neji open up to her…failed. Uncomfortable silence overwhelmed them, making Neji think that he was, once again, the right one. Tenten took a deep breath, and looked up back at him, this time straight into his eyes. Neji was appalled, for her eyes shown pain. Before Neji could open his mouth to speak, Tenten whispered the most horrid thing that Neji would of never wanted to hear in his whole life:

"I heard what you said to the lady from the bakery."

Neji couldn't get himself out of this one. He was again put on the spot. it was as if everything stopped--time, movements, and even breathing. Neji couldn't hear or feel anything but his own rapid heartbeats. He recalled the moment:

"_Girlfriend?"_

"_I wish."_

He winced to himself. _"So she wasn't paying attention to the menu," _he thought stupidly. The pain and eagerness have not left Tenten, which made it even harder for Neji to look into. He tried to speak, but his mouth just wouldn't open. He couldn't find the right words to tell her without weakly admitting his feelings.

He truly was a coward. He was a coward, and they both knew it. Neji would much rather forever hide his feelings of love and affecting than to just simply admit it and handle rejection. Tenten was waiting impatiently for him to speak, but once again, his mouth gave up on him. She let out a breath of frustration. Anger and disappointment now flashed in her eye, as she backed away from him. She gave him a forced smile, which suddenly cut through his heart like a knife.

"I have something to admit," she said, sadness seeping through her smile, "All these years, I've admired you. I look up to you. I realize that the more time I spend with you, the more happier I am. I look forward to seeing you, I miss you like crazy when you're gone, and I've honestly never felt this close to a person before I met you. And I love it Neji. I love this feeling I have with you."

Tenten bit her lip before speaking again, "I always felt alone. Having no family, and all. I stick close to you because you're the only one who makes me feel…not lonely. You take away that feeling. The longer we were together made me realize more things about you. Things I've never noticed about you before. I began to become this stupid little girl who had a mad crush on you because I couldn't help but admire you even more. Suddenly every little thing you do made me feel so happy, Neji! You're laugh, your smile, your voice…"

Tenten's voice began to become shaky, so she paused, trying to pull herself together. Suddenly she felt hot tears stroll down her face. She sighed pitifully to herself. She didn't plan on crying, and she wasn't going to do it now. Not in front of him. She rubbed her eyes boyishly with her sleeve and just eyed the trees besides Neji. She couldn't look at him now. She took a deep breath, having only one last thing to say.

"I like you,," she said with another painful, forced smile, "I like you a lot. So much to the point where I think I may be in _love_ with you. I…I love you, Neji."

Neji felt numb. He couldn't even look at her. It was too much to take in after so little time. She just poured out her feelings to him, and confessed that she LOVED him. And all he could do was just stare back with that usual, blank gaze of his. What the worst of it all is that he didn't have the guts to admit that he felt the exact same way. For the first time in a long time, Neji was overwhelmed with emotions. Happiness, confusion, guilt, amazement--all in which did not mix well. It was too much for him to bear. He didn't know how. So many feelings in his heart that he couldn't turn into words. He wanted so badly to tell her how he felt, but something kept pulling him back. He opened his mouth, but sadly, once again, not one word escaped from his lips. Neji closed his mouth in disappointment. Tenten's smile faded, and her eyes grew sadder by the second. Tears started to well up in her eyes, so she glared to hide it. It didn't work, but the glare didn't leave her face. Her eyes were serious and was filled with every ounce of hope possible.

"Neji, you like me. Admit it, or I'm gone."

This time, Tenten didn't give him enough time to answer. After just seconds of staring into his eyes, a tear rolled down her face and she sharply turned around and started running. She figured that if he can't admit it, then he's not sure of how he feels. However, that was the total opposite of how it was. Seeing Tenten run away from him snapped Neji back to his senses. He was staring at the love of his life run away from _him._ This was his one and only chance; he wasn't going to let it run away this time.

Being faster than Tenten, he caught up with her almost instantly. Tenten noticed, and tried to pick up her pace, but obviously, she was still no match. Before she could try to again increase her speed, a fallen branch of all things managed to trip her. Tenten stumbled to the floor. Neji, as concerned as he was, he quickly bent down and let out a hand to help her up, but she stubbornly denied it. She just stared at his hand coldly. Neji sighed and sat down besides her, who was still laying down on her side facing him. She couldn't look at him, especially after embarrassing herself like that. Neji broke the silence

"Why'd you run away?" he asked softly, but directly.

"I don't know," she whispered, weakly, "I thought I could handle rejection, but I guess not."

Neji blinked in confusion, "I didn't reject you."

Tenten now stared up back at him in the same amount of confusion. She slowly sat up and sat crossed legged in front of him, examining his face. He looked serious, which made her even more puzzled.

"I just confessed how I felt about you, and you didn't say anything," she said, wincing a bit from the nearby memory.

"I didn't reject you," Neji repeated, more sure now that he heard her misunderstanding, "I just…didn't know what to say to that."

Immediately Tenten glared. Neji braced himself. Apparently, what he said hurt her. Again. She let of a huff of a breath, and looked away from his gaze. The glare was still planted on her face.

"All you had to do was admit if you felt the same way," Tenten grumbled, "A simple yes or no would have been way better than your silence. Do you know how embarrassing that was for me? H-how much of a false hope it all was? I thought everything would work out. Considering you told the lady you wanted me as a girlfriend, and that you had gifts for me. Instead of you being a man and admitting it to _me,_ I just got your silence. Made me think that I wasn't worth it yet. I got my hopes up for nothing."

"Just because I didn't speak as fast as you wanted me to, doesn't mean that I don't think you're worth it," Neji shot back, almost instantly for he didn't like this feeling of being accused for no good reason, "You're so stubborn, Tenten. Stubborn, impatient, and you always jump into the strangest conclusions. I couldn't immediately answer you because it was so much to take in. I'm not used to feeling this way. It's not easy for me…"

"Ha," Tenten snorted, now feeling bad and childish, but tried to hide it, "Since when was anything too hard for you, Mr. Prodigy? Why isn't this easy for you?"

"Because it's you."

Tenten now fully looked at him in slight shock. She didn't understand what he meant by that. 'Because it's you'. Tenten tried to think over what he was trying to say, but knowing her, she took it the wrong way. Her shocked looked became yet another glare. She shakily stood up and looked down at Neji . Neji, still sitting, looked right back at her in confusion. She let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Sorry if I make things harder for you," she stated, "I never meant to be such a bother."

Neji felt like smacking himself in the face from her cluelessness, childishness, and stupidity. Everything he just stated about her was true. She was being stubborn, and was once again jumping to the farthest conclusion. Before it was tolerable, but now this was just ridiculous. Before Tenten could again escape, Neji, while sitting down, swiftly grabbed Tenten by the wrist. He held on tightly, making her turn back and look at him in surprise. He gave her a slightly troubled look.

"Can you stop running away?" he said, practically annoyed, "And that's not what I meant. Your assumptions make no sense. Just calm down, be patient and hear me out."

Neji, without letting go of her wrist, stood up firmly, and looked at her in the eye. Suddenly, he felt uneasy. He couldn't find the right way to explain everything that's happened. He was surprised that he couldn't be as blunt as she was, and supposedly he's the stronger one. He let out a small breath of frustration. All of a sudden, Tenten felt both Neji's hand move from her wrist to her hand. He held onto it gently and squeezed it softly. She felt a sudden rush of warmth travel up her arm. She gazed into his eyes and started to have uncontrollable butterflies flutter her in stomach. He won this time. Curse his good looks. He took awhile to answer again. Tenten just pouted, remembering that he told her to be patient. She almost laughed though, seeing how frustrated Neji's expression looked. He was frustrated; his mind was giving him thousands of ways to answer her and he couldn't seem to find the right one. He took a deep breath, and closed his eyes tightly before speaking.

"I, um. You're…uh," Neji started off weakly, still lacking of something good to say, " Uh, you and I, we're…um.."

Neji then released his hold on Tenten's hands and covered his face in a troublesome matter.

"Ugh, how do I explain this?" he muffled through his hands before removing them off his face and slowly grabbing onto her hands again.

Tenten just stared, amazed at how much trouble he's having at this. She now understood why this wasn't easy for him; it was all new. New to him, anyways. Neji thought harder, to explain it in a way that he and she will both understand and not get hurt from it. Suddenly, it was as if a light bulb went on in his head, for he now found a some-what perfect way to tell her. He winced thinking over the idea, because it made him seem a bit foolish. This would be the most non-prodigy moment of his life. He twitched, thinking that he was going to risk sounding like Lee. But he had to do it. For her. For them. He took another deep breath, and looked into her eyes.

"Tenten, I'm uh…a pancake," he said slowly, but then decided to go serious, "Remember what you said earlier today? A pancake is fine own it's own, but it would much rather be with something like syrup or whip cream to complete it. Because, like you said, the syrup is what completes it, and the whip cream is what makes it perfect. The pancake wouldn't want to be just by itself because then, it'll be harder for it to be wanted.."

Tenten didn't understand where he was going with this. Noticing that, Neji continued.

"I'm like that, Tenten. I'm that plain pancake that nobody chooses. I have to wait longer to actually be wanted, because I'm incomplete."

Tenten blushed, as he intertwined their fingers together. She was frozen, and she didn't dare move. He looked deeper in his eyes, knowing now that this was his chance. He continued.

"And Tenten, you are my syrup. You are what…completes me. And you're my whip cream, because you are what makes my life perfect. My life was so dull, and lifeless until you arrived. Now that you're in my life, I've felt more wanted. By you. Now I know how it feels to be a pancake…with syrup and whip cream. I finally feel wanted."

Tenten had a very funny look on her face. A funny look that Neji couldn't draw out. Whatever that look was, though, it made him feel like a fool. He started to think that his whole pancake plan didn't work, which would of course, embarrass him and taunt him for the rest of his life. He looked at Tenten again. She was shaking slightly, her lips were pursed tightly together, and her face was becoming redder by the second. He raised a brow. Within a couple more seconds, she burst out in laughter. Neji just stared at her in confusion, and slight shock. He didn't find anything humorous from their conversation.

"Haha, oh my god, Neji, really?!" she laughed, holding onto her stomach for support, "I'm the syrup to your pancakes? Is that the best you came up with? Hahaha, oh my gosh, you had me worrying me like crazy! I…I thought you were going to be more dramatic and scary!"

Neji blushed in embarrassment. He looked down to cover up the red tainted on his cheeks. Now he felt like a fool, despite the fact that his plan went well. Tenten covered her mouth to control her laughter, and when she cooled down, she looked at the very embarrassed Neji, who was still looking down and rubbing the back of his neck shyly. A smile crawled onto her lips and sudden tears formed in her eyes. She let out a small chuckle. Neji looked up and saw her rubbing her tears away with her hand while she continued staring at him with a soft smile.

"Why are you crying?" he asked, worriedly.

"I'm happy, Neji," Tenten replied, laughing as she wiped away her tears, "You have no idea how happy I feel right now. Do you know how long I waited for this moment? Too long, Neji, too long! And now that this moment has finally come, I feel so…so…"

Tenten covered her face with both her hands and more tears of happiness fell from her eyes. Normally she wouldn't be the one to cry, but the feeling was just too overwhelming. Neji could see her smile, though, through her hands that covered her face. Knowing that he made her _this_ happy made him feel like this was the biggest accomplishment he's made in his life. He felt his own smile creeping onto his face. Not being able to again control his happiness, he took a step closer to her and embraced her. He wrapped his arms gently around her, and pulled her in closer. He now knew how it felt to hold his world in his arms. He now knew how it felt to feel truly happy.

He now knew how it felt to be loved.

Tenten embraced him back tightly, enjoying his warmth. She looked up at him and smiled sweetly. Neji smiled softly back, and before he could even blink, Tenten tip-toed slightly and placed her lips gently on his. Neji's eyes widened slightly, and a sudden warm, rush entered his heart. It felt amazing. Tenten quickly released, and backed away. She was also blushing madly, and then started fidgetting with her fingers. She gave Neji a shy smile.

"Ah, um," she said softly, with an awkward laugh, "I just wanted to know how that would feel.."

Neji stared at her shy, childish reaction and couldn't help but again smile. It was cute. She was cute. And she was his. She was his, and his only. She had his heart, as he had hers. And that was a great feeling. Giving her a sincere smile, he opened up his arms towards her. Tenten blinked, but instantly smiled and quickly went back to his embrace. This time, Neji lifted up her face gently with his thumb and placed his lips softly open hers. This kiss was simple, and sweet. Really sweet. He released, and Tenten giggled, embracing him once again.

"Neji?"

"Mm?" he said, pressing his lips to her head.

"You tastes like syrup," she giggled.

Neji smirked, forgetting that they have not yet gotten clean since they left the bakery. He gave her one last quick kiss on the lips, and held her hand. As they walked back to his home, Neji felt something hit him sharply on the head. He grunted, and looked down at the object that hit him. He bent down and looked at it oddly.

It was an apple.

Neji looked towards the direction it was thrown, and saw his green teammate just yards away. Lee gave him two thumbs up with a huge grin that made his teeth shine as he did so. Tenten looked at Neji strangely, and then towards the direction he was looking at. However, when she looked, there was no one there. She looked again at Neji.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Neji just chuckled, and shrugged. He then gestured the apple towards her.

"Nothing. Apple?"

**FIN**

**Oh gawd, sorry for the delay everyone! I hope you liked it though. I know it wasn't a good way to end the story, but I wanted to try something comedic for a change, rather than corny. Despite it all, I hope you enjoyed my first story after 3 years. Please check out my previous stories, and feel free to review. Don't forget to read and review on this one as well, please and thanks! Alright, good night everyone! **

**R&R! **


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